


The Vexed Order

by Madzie2000



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:02:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28090599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madzie2000/pseuds/Madzie2000
Summary: 'Armitage Hux was awake bright and early as he always was, prepared for anything that his day might throw at him. Was Ren carving up another control panel or important piece of equipment with his glorified red toothpick? Was he going to find another strong, obedient soldier to replace Phasma? Could he see Mitaka almost bouncing out of his seat because they’d finally put the Resistance in their place?The answer was no.'AKA Hux and Ren were done dirty, so let's fix Episode 9!
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Original Female Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. A New Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains no present non-con and does not mention it graphically for the first 2 chapters, but do exercise caution as you continue reading!

Armitage Hux was awake bright and early as he always was, prepared for anything that his day might throw at him. Was Ren carving up another control panel or important piece of equipment with his glorified red toothpick? Was he going to find another strong, obedient soldier to replace Phasma? Could he see Mitaka almost bouncing out of his seat because they’d finally put the Resistance in their place?

The short answer was no: Ren had become pensive after losing the woman from Jakku, much to his surprise; Phasma would always been an irreplaceable asset to the First Order and Mitaka’s excitement faded the instant he moved toward his table.

‘Something wrong, Mitaka? Don’t stop being happy on my account’, he said with a small, genuine smile.

The brunette whispered something under his breath that Hux couldn’t quite catch. As he sat down across from Mitaka, he asked him to speak up a little, cutting out the commanding tone his voice lent itself toward.

‘I said, “They found her”, Hux.’

For a moment, the general didn’t understand who he meant and smiled.

‘I suppose searching for Phasma’s replacement is pointless, if she’s still alive.’

‘That’s if the Supreme Leader doesn’t try to have her executed for abandoning the Order, Hux.’

For a moment, they stared at each other, realising they were talking about two different women.

‘Who are you talking about, Hux?’

‘Phasma – what about you?’

‘Dawn Vex.’

Hux felt his heart stutter, then begin to race in his chest.

‘Don’t play pranks on me, Mitaka,’ he said dismissively. ‘I don’t think an old man like me can handle the minor heart attack.’

‘Hux, I’m not joking!’ Mitaka said loud enough to silence the room.

The younger man muttered a quick apology and then continued, ‘They had anyone who worked with you and Gallius Rax go in to identify her, but something’s off – someone said it’s like she lost her personality in the last 15 years!’

Hux looked at his breakfast with a sour taste in his mouth, but quickly covered it up with the bitterness of caf. And, for some strange reason, disappointment.

‘Am I supposed to give Ren the final verdict?’ he asked, completely abandoning his food to some young troopers behind him.

‘I think so – the Supreme Leader himself was headed towards your quarters not five standards minutes ago.’

As if he had heard Mitaka speaking through the walls, Kylo Ren entered the Mess hall, maskless and babyish amongst the older crew, and yet, holding the power Hux was always hungering for.

‘General, a moment of your time, please?’

Ren’s melancholic aura made Hux uneasy, but the thought of losing one of the best soldiers he’d made – and the only woman he’d even remotely felt attracted to – stung his pride and his eyes. Her presence was a thorn in Rax’s side, but Hux tried to see Dawn in any other way: she was a wild flower, surrounded by the thorns of greed, which threatened to tear her apart.

She was a fighter.

‘Of course, Supreme Leader.’

*

After a brief visit to the armoury, Hux finally gathered the courage to ask Ren where they were going.

‘The lower level holding cells – apparently one of your old Child Soldiers is back among the living, and didn’t come back to the First Order for the past decade or so.’

Hux felt his skin crawl at the thought of Ren severing Dawn’s head from her body, and the Sith Lord chuckled, voice low and deep through the modulator of his fractured mask.

‘Only if I believe she betrayed the Order, will I even consider killing your lover.’

Hux grabbed Ren by the arm and flung him into a wall, completely unaware of his own strength.

‘She was sixteen, Ren! If you talk about her like that again, I’ll hang you in the bridge!’

Ren was stunned into silence as the realisation of what he’d done dawned on him.

‘I’m not apologising, but _you_ will be, if that woman is Dawn Vex.’

Then, feeling unimaginably scared for his life, Hux all but ran into the holding cell, watching as a short, stocky woman raised her head. It was crowned with patchy, shabbily-dyed hair. The layers of black and brown dyes couldn’t hide the sandy brown roots which were peeking out a few inches from her scalp. The soft features of her face told Hux she was well-fed, but she wasn’t far off form being underweight. The woman graced the line between youthful and adult, with an air of maturity that called to him, along with her mismatched brown and green eyes. 

The moment their eyes met, the woman asked, ‘Was that you, screaming in the hall?’

Hux tried to stand up straight, but his mind made his body sag in defeat. Against what, he wasn’t sure.

‘Do you recognise me at all?’

‘No, Arm, not a bit.’

‘I didn’t think s- hey!’

The woman smiled softly at him.

‘You’re the only one left who’d know me just by looking at me. I saw you looking at my hair and my eyes – the others were asking me questions anyone with a Holonet connection could answer.’

The door behind Hux slid open with a hiss and he closed his eyes with a quick huff through his nose. He opened them and Dawn’s eyes wouldn’t leave Ren’s face… or, at least, the area of his mask where his face should be.

‘Is she Dawn Vex, General?’

‘You’re a general, now?’ Dawn asked incredulously. ‘When people mentioned General Hux, I never imagined they meant you.’

Hux was unnerved by the way Dawn could barely glance away from Ren, let alone hold a conversation with him.

‘This woman is definitely Dawn Vex, Supreme Leader.’

Hux looked over to Dawn, who seemed impossibly uncomfortable as Ren stepped closer to her, her shoulders high and her eyes wide.

‘Ren, you should step back – she’s clearly not stable enough for an interrogation.’

Dawn seemed focused on Ren’s hands and suddenly, the day she disappeared popped into his head.

‘Give her some time to explain what happened the day she disappeared. _Then_ you can make your decision.’

Ren nodded and backed away, which made Dawn’s shoulders lose their tense hold of her neck. The fire in her eyes, which he’d seen in their last training mission together, came roaring back into her eyes.

‘You want to know about the ship and the grenade, right?’ she said, eyes narrowing. ‘Gallius Rax: that’s what got me sent into… let me just start from the beginning of the exercise.’

And so, Ren moved to the furthest corner of the room from Dawn, while Hux took his place. He nodded and Dawn began speaking, eyes glued to him.

‘Rax wanted me to be out in front of us all, so his plan to be rid of us would work, knowing Phasma didn’t like to scout. I would be the only one in the line of fire. When I got over that little dune and pulled out the macrobinoculars, I saw skin traders, ready and waiting to cart off anybody Rax thought weren’t strong enough to fight.’

Hux felt his heart beating wildly in his chest, his mind rushing as he began to add up the outcome of the day. The day he thought Dawn Vex died.

‘I threw out the first grenade that I could, then ran for the traders and begged them to take _just_ me… and they did. And for twelve years, I’ve been passed from owner to owner, with new hair and a new name… even new clothes.’

‘What _is_ the skin trade?’ Ren asked.

‘Human trading, Supreme Leader – and I wasn’t just made any ordinary slave.’

Hux turned toward the door.

‘She was sold into sexual slavery, Ren. That’s why she’s afraid of us.’

‘Whether I want to be or not,’ she said softly.

Hux heard a hissing sound as Ren released the air-tight seals of his mask and held it under his arm. He turned and saw Dawn’s wet eyes meeting with Ren’s: he was fighting his own emotions under that harsh exterior.

‘Would you let me see what happened that day, when they took you with them?’

‘Would you execute me for not coming back?’

Ren didn’t have the words, but he released the restraints around Dawn’s wrists and extended a hand to her.

‘You’ve been through enough to warrant a life without fear – I can promise it.’

Dawn took Ren’s hand, shaking, but closed her eyes and let the memory consume her. Ren all but snatched his hand away from her.

‘Hux, Dawn will remain with you until she’s assigned a position in the Order and a new room.’

Dawn was deathly quiet, but when Ren released her ankles, she stumbled to her feet.

‘With respect, I’m a liability anywhere I go. Ar – I mean, General Hux – shouldn’t have to babysit me.’

‘Don’t worry, Vex. He’s more than happy to provide instruction.’

Dawn tried to understand the nuance, but she clearly thought it was creepy rather than endearing, so she moved closer to Hux.

The moment they had their backs turned to him, Ren said, ‘You shouldn’t keep secrets from the Leader of the First Order.’

Dawn turned and said, ‘You didn’t ask me any questions, Supreme Leader. Did you have one?’

Hux could see Dawn shivering with anxiety, her entire body panicked beyond words. He couldn’t understand why, until Ren advanced toward them.

Much to Hux’s surprise, Dawn shoved him out of the way and said, ‘Your question?’ with more than a little venom in her tone.

Ren ignited his lightsabre and pressed it against her left arm, holding Dawn in place with raw, human strength. The shivers were now turning into sharp, jittery tremors, which made the sabre in Ren’s hand shake against her burning skin. It had exposed the wire underneath.

‘Are you done humiliating me?’ Dawn said as she snatched back her burnt arm. ‘I cut off this hand to make my escape almost three years ago. With respect, Supreme Leader, please don’t touch me.’

Dawn nodded to Ren and nursed her arm, checking the damage as she and Hux began moving toward an elevator. He’d righted himself in the time it took Dawn to become the fierce creature he’d let himself fall for, but watching her expression of anger drift away made Hux’s heart squeeze in sympathy. They left Ren in the hall, staring at his feet in shame.

Hux had his moment to stand up to Ren, but only Dawn and the scavenger from Jakku seemed capable of silencing him completely. Muzzling him, too.

*

Dawn was tired. Emotionally, she was at war with her fears about Ren, Hux and her old comrades, while also wanting to move seamlessly back into her old life. Physically, she was fighting against her urge to use the Force as she usually would, and simply influence the people around her into complying with her perfect future job.

Ren’s strength and raw power made using the Force in his presence, or even in the same system as him, practically impossible.

‘I won’t be pushed around by that overgrown toddler,’ Dawn muttered as she applied the nano-bots to her arm, watching them seal over her broken and burned synthetic skin.

‘I’ve been thinking that every day since Snoke brought him to us, with his Knight’s of Ren,’ Hux admitted. ‘As a matter of fact, I’d say half the ship agrees with us.’

Dawn tried to smile as he straightened out in his seat, eyeing her work as if he’d never seen mechanical limbs.

‘Did it feel worth it, using something to sever a limb?’ Hux asked.

‘It wasn’t just to escape, Hux…’

With a quick breath in, Dawn pressed on the underside of her forearm, revealing a hidden compartment where she stored her most valuable weapon.

‘Dawn, is that what I think it is?’ Hux said, moving to knee in front of her.

‘It’s the other reason I went with the skin traders – I should have stayed and lived life without embracing my Force sensitivity.’

Hux put out a hand, as if he wanted to comfort her, but a million memories of men and women raising their hands to her made her pull her arm away. He said nothing as she ignited the blade, revealing a soft, blue-green colour which always made her feel ethereal, despite living amongst thugs, villains and slaves.

‘The First Order is a killing machine, you know?’

Dawn sat up a little straighter and she turned off the sabre and shoved it back into her forearm.

‘How long has it taken you to realise that, Arm?’ she said, almost disgusted with him.

He stood back up and put his hands behind his back, standing before the door to his quarters.

‘Too late – I’ve begun a correspondence with the Resistance so I can take control of this mess… Ren’s not going to look after the rest of us until he has some scavenger as his bride or his apprentice.’

‘And if he finds out about me, I’ll take her place – you can’t tell him what I am.’

Hux turned back and was back at her feet, taking her hands in his.

‘He doesn’t need me to speak – he tortured my contact for hours and pulled the information right from his head! Dawn, if he asks, either I die protecting you, or...’

Dawn looked at her hands, and wondered where the shakes she’d had to deal with for the last twenty minutes had gone to. Perhaps the familiarity of Hux’s voice and face and hidden sensitivity kept her sane? Or maybe she hadn’t tried hard enough to be close to people after escaping her old masters.

‘If it came to that, I wouldn’t let him hurt you. I know what you had Phasma do to your father. I can feel it on you, too.’

Though he looked as broken as she felt, Dawn let Hux seat himself beside her, a little space between them for her comfort.

‘Would you like to see the scars?’

Dawn felt her shoulders lower at he pulled his hands away from her, but she found herself wanting them back with her.

‘Where are _your_ scars?’ she asked, glancing over at Hux.

He was staring at the ground too, but his hands were balled up on his knees, while hers were resting half-folded in her lap.

‘On the inside of my head and all across my torso… you?’

Dawn looked up and saw the tears in his eyes, glassing them over with unspoken emotions she knew all too well.

‘Places I couldn’t show you if I tried, but definitely my torso and a few nasty things hiding in my head, too.’

Hux fought off a smile as he said, ‘I don’t mean to be crude, but I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.’

Dawn felt a little puff or two of air leave her nose, a laugh trying to brighten the room.

‘The best I can do is my back… since I have breasts. Not that you noticed at all.’

Hux made a cursory glance at her chest and said, ‘You covered them up so well that I didn’t think to look.’

Slowly removing layer after layer of coats and shirts, Hux revealed a multitude of old scars which started at his wrists and moved down along his arm to his back. Small dots, with a few larger ones, made her cringe.

‘He put out cigars and cigarettes on you? Remind me to kiss Phasma, if she’s somehow managed ot stay alive.’

A series of small divets in Hux’s side seemed too be in line with places where a rib or two should be.

‘He beat you so badly you broke ribs? Arm, how are you still alive?’

Before Dawn could think, she’d stood and rested a hand on his bare shoulder.

As a tear slid down his cheek, Hux said, ‘There’s a reason I wear so many coats, Dawn.’

With a glance at his stomach, she added, ‘I suppose those tiny scars on your wrists weren’t from Millie, were they?’

‘She died a few months ago… best thing my father ever gave me, and it wasn’t even his idea.’

‘Some superior’s daughter?’

‘No. My mother had mentioned it once, and he said if the cat died, I should let her die, too.’

Letting the Force whisper to her, allowing it to speak to her, but shutting off any chance of a reply, Dawn took in what Hux was saying through an entirely new lens.

‘I’m surprised he didn’t marry you off like they do with noble women on civilised planets… but surely, you’ve found someone to look after you.’

Hux met her eyes for a moment, hopeful and sure, but then he turned away.

‘The largest scars were corporal punishment from higher-ups, because they discovered that I wasn’t my father’s legitimate son. I was called an impostor until they all died mysteriously of the same substance that killed my father.’

‘I saw that look, Hux. I know what you were thinking without needing to look.’

For a moment, Hux seemed like he was going to throw his clothes back on and tell her to leave, but instead, he locked the door to his quarters.

‘That day you disappeared, I realised just how much you meant to me. I could tell you a joke or be a human with real emotions, but Rax and my father wiped all that joy from my life. They brainwashed me to do the same thing to orphans and weak-minded adults. Anyone with a pulse could be another soldier for the First Order.’

Dawn nodded and turned her back to him as she unzipped the front of her suit, pulling it down over her shoulders and then letting it slip to her hips. The front of it was clutched tightly in her hands, hiding her chest from view. Only her wraps were visible from where Hux was likely to be standing.

Not having the Force as her sixth sense was painful, especially when a hand could appear anywhere without warning.

*

Hux was pulling his shirt on as Dawn unzipped her flight suit, dropping the back half while the front kept her modesty in check. The deep gouges and cuts in her back, layer upon layer of scars and scratches, made him feel sick.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her from Ren, form her own memories, maybe even from his own selfish desires, but he was only one man.

‘Twelve years of bad behaviour gets you a lot of scars, but I’ve never actually seen them. How bad is it?’

Hux moved to stand a little way behind Dawn, then tapped her shoulder with a single finger. She jumped at the touch, but huffed to herself and began pulling her suit back up around her shoulders.

When she turned around, fully covered, he said, ‘Like a patchwork of pain and misery, just like mine.’

He offered her a sympathetic smile and she shoved her hands into her armpits, though he could have sworn she tried to reach out for him.

‘But that tapestry is sitting on the back of a woman who never used to let bullies and nasty old men get in her way. I let those old men walk all over me and treat me like garbage, so maybe, she should don a uniform and help me destroy them from the inside, out.’

Dawn blinked and said, ‘You mean it? Arm, that’s going to take a lot of convincing for Re – ’

The door to Hux’s chambers slipped open and a trooper entered.

‘Dawn Vex, by order of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, you are to meet him in training room three. General Hux is invited to be a spectator.’

The trooper saw Hux, partially dressed, and said, ‘Sorry to interrupt, sir.’

Dawn put her tongue in her cheek and shook her head as the door slid shut.

‘Well, at least your girlfriend will break up with you.’

Dawn collected the female cadet’s uniform Hux collected for her and left to change in his bathroom. While she was in there, he felt himself growing faint and almost ill again.

‘How do I tell you, Dawn?’ he said to himself, barely above a whisper. ‘How do I say you were the only woman I loved as much as my mother?’

‘If you keep talking out loud, you might just tell her yourself.’

Startled at the sound of Ren’s voice, Hux shot up from his perch in his desk chair.

‘Supreme Leader! I thought you’d be waiting for us in the training room?’

‘I was planning to do that, until I realised, she’s an asset to the Order. To me, more specifically.’

Trying not to betray his concerns, Hux said, ‘How so?’

‘You know why, General. I may be younger than both of you, but I’m no fool: the scans of her arm show that she’s concealing a lightsabre, which is a tool she could have used to cut off her arm without serious injury.’

Hux tried to swallow the saliva that had been resting uncomfortably in his mouth, but found that it had dried up.

‘Ren, whatever you’re planning to do, I’m begging you not to.’

‘And why is that?’

Dawn exited the room where Hux’s fresher was and proudly strode out in her uniform, but the instant she realised Ren was there, she froze.

‘Oh, Supreme Leader! Aren’t you supposed to be waiting for us?’

‘No – I thought you should re-acquaint yourself with Ataru.’

Dawn furrowed her brow.

‘That wasn’t any kind of combat I learnt with Hux and the others – is it a new weapon we improved in the last 15 years?’

‘You know what the forms of lightsabre combat are, Dawn. We scanned your body for concealed weapons and left you to your own devices, but only I noticed it.’

‘You’d know better than anyone that lightsabre’s don’t make someone a Jedi or Sith,’ she retorted.

Ren smiled, the mask of deception falling from his face as Dawn ignited her sabre and prepared to fight.

‘Do you really think I need a weakling like you as an apprentice? I have the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy scared and confused. But when she comes back, I’ll be ready. I just need a sparring partner.’

Dawn eyed Ren suspiciously.

‘So, you’re keeping to that promise? I don’t have to deal with any more trauma because you’re chasing a Force-sensitive woman half way across the galaxy?’

Ren seemed to mull over her choice of words and then nodded.

Dawn looked over at Hux and then said to Ren, ‘So, you plan to train her… with a sabre?’

Ren seemed confused until she added, ‘The crystal kind or the one made of flesh?’

‘That’s disgusting, Vex,’ the younger man said.

‘That was hilarious and you need to stop being so uptight – besides, now you have a reason to try and hit me!’

‘There’s only one problem with that plan, Vex,’ Ren said as he dropped something into her hand.

Dawn was definitely repulsed by what she saw, but regarded it with a little more respect than Hux had anticipated.

‘I’m not tainting this blade with Sith garbage.’

‘Then I’ll just have to do this.’

Ren held her gaze and suddenly Hux felt his throat closing up, as if a hand was pressing in on his oesophagus from every direction.

‘Aren’t you done playing with people’s lives like this? Your father’s? Your crew’s?’

Hux felt his chest tightening as the lack of oxygen occupied the entirety of his mind, strangling his thoughts into a single vein.

_Help. Dawn… Ren… dangerous_

‘What about Rey? Do you really want her to be afraid of you, too?’

Hux began to breathe as Ren let him go, only to watch as the Sith Lord backed Dawn into a corner of the room.

‘How do you know her name?’

‘I met her once, while I was escaping my old masters – she helped me create this arm, but I told her the compartment was for smuggling. She has a kindness even you couldn’t resist, with that cold, dead heart of yours.’

Hux managed to whisper, ‘Stop’, as he stood up.

‘I’m not going to kill her, Hux. If my plans with Rey fall through, then she’s the next best thing. And I have a promise to keep. Shall we?’

Ren still looked strained, but Hux knew Ren was good on his word, where power was concerned. Reluctantly, Hux watched as Dawn followed Ren, discussing their explanation of her return and ‘training’.

_I swear on my mother’s grave, Ren, if she cries a single tear…_


	2. Resistance Fighters and Sith Escapades pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Dawn have been forced apart by Ren, who trains with Dawn daily as his apprentice, Lady Vex.
> 
> When Hux tells Dawn how he feels about her, will she accept him, or will they be drawn away form each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mentions past abuse very briefly, so proceed with caution.

Hux had been worried about Dawn since she began sparring with Ren, but despite her flowing black robes and newly-dyed hair, she managed to keep herself in high spirits. Even Ren had praised his “Sith Apprentice” for her ferocity in close-quarters combat, as well as her fiery spirit when he insinuated Hux needed a little “relaxation”.

The general had told Ren to keep it in his robes, and the Sith seemed almost disgusted, but he chuckled despite himself. The sound made half the people on the bridge furrow their brows. They hadn’t seen or heard the Sith in a good mood in their lives, and even Hux was unnerved by it.

‘He said it again today, didn’t he, Lady Vex?’ he asked as Dawn entered his quarters to report on Ren’s combat training.

‘Surprisingly, he didn’t, General Hux. He’s started apologising and looking sick when I walk into the room… very strange. And please, don’t call me Lady Vex unless our superiors are running around.’

Dawn gestured toward Hux’s bed and he nodded, watching her take a seat after abandoning her sabre at the back of his desk.

As Dawn stretched her arms, she asked, ‘Any interesting plans on the Resistance end of our little scheme?’

Hux nodded, trying to ignored the fact that Dawn was now unfastening her hair and had begun shaking it out with her fingers. She was suddenly more interesting than teaming up with Dameron, with the scavenger, with the real heroes in the galaxy…

‘Hux, I can feel your inner turmoil from the other side of the ship.’

‘Does Ren know what we’re doing?’

Dawn smiled.

‘He isn’t saying it, but I know he secretly wants the First Order to be disbanded, by you or by some Sith Army on a planet I’ve never heard of.’

Hux felt his blood run cold.

‘He’s not taking you there, is he?’

Dawn smiled and loosened her cloak, letting it slip down her back so she could collect it in one arm.

‘It’s all an act, Arm – whatever bond has formed between us is purely because of all the time I’ve spent training with him. And Ren’s only interested in the woman from Jakku, so I’m free to love and be loved.’

Hux hadn’t noticed Dawn, right beside him, almost brushing his arm with her robes. She leaned down to look into his eyes and he jumped.

‘Dawn, what are you trying to do?’ Hux asked, knowing she was too close for comfort.

‘See who your sweetheart on the ship is – why wouldn’t I want to know who my friend’s been doing since I left?’

Hux shook his head and chuckled. Dawn’s taste in humour hadn’t changed since they were young. In fact, she might have learnt to talk dirtier amongst her criminal clients and old masters.

‘I could just tell you all of my conquests, if you like? It’s a very short list.’

Dawn smiled and sat back down on his bed, crossing her legs at the knee as she sat herself up on her palms.

‘You know I love juicy details,’ she said with a mischievous smirk. ‘Go on.’

Hux felt his skin heat up as Dawn stared into his soul, searching for something in him that didn’t exist. He had his personality back, maybe even his humour, but romance had been all but cut out of him as he grew up. He had always imagined that his job was his only love, but seeing Dawn smile like this, it changed his mind.

‘Well, it’s a woman, so you can stop talking about Mitaka like he’s your brother-in-law,’ Hux said as he stood up and stretched his arms.

He didn’t feel like he needed to stretch like this, showing off his casual attire of a dress shirt and clean pants, but it was helping with his stiff shoulders. Swapping out of a desk job into field work was beginning to sound nicer by the second.

‘Should I go find her for you, so she can get rid of all that… tension?’ Dawn said, giggling to herself as Hux crossed his arms.

Feeling a little adventurous, Hux sat on his bed as close to Dawn as he dared and said, ‘She’s not the brightest star in the galaxy either, but she’s pretty easy on the eyes.’

Dawn seemed to catch onto something, coming to a strange realisation that Hux hadn’t anticipated.

‘Are you telling me you’ve never had a partner, Arm?’

Dawn sat a little more slouched, almost worried for him, adding, ‘Not even a late-night, drunken fling?’

‘Dawn, whether or not I’ve had sex isn’t going to be part of this conversation… especially not after what you’ve been through.’

‘Oh, so because I’ve been hurt, I can’t… wait, never?!’

Another moment of analysis made Dawn sit straight up, glance toward the door, then look Hux in the eyes. She’d learnt to trust him and their superiors, even Ren, but their contact hours being reduced so drastically, it had strained his resolve.

_Self-absorbed child…_

‘Arm, what were you waiting for?’

Dawn’s hand sat on his shoulder and Hux felt them collapsing in on his chest. All the years he wondered where she was, if she was safe, if he might see her again, came back to him in full force. He could feel himself shaking and shivering, knowing what she had to do to survive amongst rapists and murderers in the Outer Rim. Where did he fit into her life, now?

Maybe he was just a co-conspirator and confidante, nothing more.

‘Hux? Hey, hey whatever it is, it’s fine!’

The moment Dawn put her arms around him, he broke.

*

Dawn could feel waves of guilt, pain, confusion and so many flurrying emotions flowing between herself and Hux that she could only hold him tighter.

‘It’s fine, Arm! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed it.’

He shook his head and pulled her in close to him, crying into her shoulder. Her stomach churned at this intimacy, but she pushed through her own pain and kept hushing him. Telling him to breathe. Hux sat up and Dawn could feel apprehension swirling around in his head, eyes wet and red and sad as she felt.

 _Is he upset because it was_ me _asking him about this? Is he feeling guilty that he was part of Rax’s plan?_

‘Dawn, what was the last thing you said to us, on that training mission?’ Hux asked, face furrowed and haunted by some ghost of the past.

As the words left Dawn’s mouth, she realised that the ghost was her.

‘Wait for me, Armitage… don’t forget to wait for me,’ she said slowly. ‘But that was just an order!’

Hux nodded, and said under his breath, ‘I always followed orders, back then.’

Dawn felt her skin heat up as the pieces of their conversation fell into place, past and present aligning to give her the bigger picture of Hux’s life.

‘You fell in love with me when we were teenagers, didn’t you?’

He nodded.

‘That day, I told you to wait for me, so you did?’

Another nod. Her eyes were burning as she tried to fight her own tears.

‘But now that you know what happened while I was gone, you’ve started feeling guilty that you let it all happen?’

‘And I would love nothing better, than to wake up with you next to me, but that’s selfish,’ he said softly, wiping at his eyes with one sleeve.

Dawn had a million things to tell Hux: why he was wrong, why he was right, how she’d felt about him and the Order while she was gone. Yet, right now, all she wanted to do was calm his nerves and dismiss her own. With a tentative hand, she rested her palm over his cheek, lifted his head and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

He pushed her away and she felt betrayed.

‘No, no, you’re not going to do anything you don’t want to just because I feel upset, Dawn!’

‘Who said I didn’t want you, or that I never had any decent masters in the last twelve years?’

Hux smoothed a hand down his face and said, in the most hysterical tone she’d ever heard, ‘You mean, some of them were decent?’

‘Only two, but they were the ones I was happy to serve – they saw my pain and tried to show me kindness. I learnt the hard way that I should have taken advantage of it, and been with someone on my own terms. Instead, I became a pretty maid nobody could touch.’

Hux sat a hand on Dawn’s knee, saying, ‘Who was it?’

Dawn smiled weakly.

‘He was a guest of the second master who treated me well: this man was part of the Resistance, so kind and gentle, but he wouldn’t let me see his face –he seemed handsome, in his own rugged way. I thought he was there to hurt me, but he just needed an alibi to escape my master’s guards. He asked if he could kiss me, and I said yes, because most men never even asked to have me in their room. And suddenly he’d opened the door behind us as the guards passed, and we were in there, all alone.’

‘He didn’t…’

Dawn shook her head, trying not to seem upset.

‘No. No, he just did it to convince the guards he was messing with servants in the dark. Of course, I panicked and the guards heard me screaming bloody murder, because I thought a man would hurt me, again.’

Hux seemed a little disconcerted, but carefully chose his words, he picked, ‘What does the stranger have to do with me?’

‘I considered thanking that man for treating me like I had autonomy, but I let my fears override what I actually felt.’

Dawn sat up a little straighter and tugged at the laces of her tunic, revealing her chest and the wraps underneath. Hux didn’t notice.

‘Arm, if I asked you to sleep with me, and you said yes, I wouldn’t leave this room until you knew how being with a woman feels.’

Hux laughed, nervous and flushed, but when he realised Dawn had moved her robes off of her shoulders, he was suddenly overcome with an urge to stare at his shoes.

‘And if I said that I feel uncomfortable?’

Dawn chuckled a little as she stood in front of him, leaning down so her wraps hung loosely about her breasts.

‘I’d help you relax,’ she said, punctuating it with a little wink.

As if he was possessed, Hux sat up and brought his lips to Dawn’s. For a moment, she wondered if he’d know how to kiss a woman, but the general was full of surprises. He pulled her into his lap, only to all but dive into her mouth, hungry for the things he’d missed as a younger man.

They were both trembling, holding onto each other to remain grounded in the moment. Hux wasn’t skilled, but the emotions which were moving through him made Dawn’s nerves tingle with excitement. She sat up and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, seating herself over his thighs.

Hux glanced down at her chest and said, ‘The wraps, they...’

Dawn had felt the chill air on her skin, but the realisation that her chest was barely covered by the wraps only reached her now. Her feigned confidence fell away and she used the Force to lift them a little, covering the few shreds of bare skin he’d noticed.

Hux’s eyes said, _That was a bad idea._

‘If you’re having second thoughts, I’m fine with this,’ he said softly, placing his hands at her back.

Dawn smiled awkwardly at him and said, ‘Confidence is supposed be sexy, but I’ve got a hundred different experiences in my head showing me what I was taught, instead of what feels right.’

Hux sat a little taller and said, ‘Then go with your instincts – whatever you were told to do isn’t what I want from this. I want _you_ , free and happy.’

With a cheeky grin he said, ‘And stark naked.’

Dawn smiled and wet her lower lip as she let her thoughts swirl around, pulling away all the teachings of upper-class whores and skin traders, leaving behind the things she’d always wanted to be as a partner.

With the right mindset firmly in her mind, she stood up and said, ‘Help me remove the wraps, and I’ll take that ridiculous shirt off.’

*

Hux smirked and gladly moved toward her, taking the wraps between his fingers and slowly moving them down to her ribs, ignoring her bosom as he felt the smooth, pristine skin under his fingers.

With more than a little trepidation, he thought, _one part of her they didn’t scar._

Hux wanted to explore the flesh that had been brought to light, but putting his hands near Dawn’s throat seemed like a far worse idea than any he’d thought of doing since she entered his quarters. Running his hands back over Dawn’s clavicle, Hux stepped in close to her and pressed his chest against hers as he kissed at her jaw. Her breathy chuckle in his ear sent a pleasant shiver up his spine, encouraging him to explore her neck. Nimble fingers moved to the buttons up under his arms and he stood back, letting her work.

The small red marks he’d left made his heart stutter, but Dawn noticed his concern, saying, ‘That’s meant to happen, Arm. It feels quite nice, actually.’

And before he could protest (not that he would even dare, with his sandy-haired beauty), Dawn pulled him down toward her for another fiery kiss, trailing it down his jaw, then his neck, and found a spot to lavish with a sharp suction. The spike of pain was followed by a sensation of soothing tongue, moving across hyper-sensitive skin. Those alluring brush-coloured eyes fell to his chest, blown wide with anticipation, as she began removing his shirt.

As Dawn untucked it from around his waist, she smiled seductively and asked, ‘Pants getting a little tight?’

Hux chuckled a little, but when her finger brushed his crotch, he made a little sound in the back of his throat. As the shirt moved over his shoulders, falling to the ground with a soft flutter, Hux held Dawn in his arms and pulled her tight against his body. She seemed a little shaken for a moment, shoulders lifted in defence, but when he lifted her chin with his fingers, they fell and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

This kiss felt different. Dawn was almost winning the fight with his tongue, a new fire burning in her that seemed to leech into the room. It enveloped him and made him feel strong and secure, safe from the world outside. Hux smiled into the kiss as he felt Dawn’s hands began undoing his belt and moving them through the loops. Before a hand could try and sliver under the waistband, still connected at the lips, Hux lifted Dawn high onto his hips and held her up against the first wall he found.

*

Dawn was a little surprised, to say the least, but she was surprised that Hux knew being in a bed for this had been tainted by her past experiences. Sleeping was fine, but being in a bed, sweat and heavy breathing passing between them, was the hardest thing to think of. She was pulled out of her mind by the awareness of Hux’s erection pressed between them, breath catching in her throat.

Tonight, she was going to make love to the man who’d kept her alive, fighting to be free, for twelve years as anyone and everyone’s favourite slave. She would have to thank the stranger some other way, because tonight, Armitage Hux was taking her: mind, body and soul.

‘Trauma be damned,’ Dawn said as she shifted, to make Hux release her from the wall.

The instant he did, she flipped them around and put her hands on his hips. Though her eyes never left Hux’s face, Dawn’s hands were working at his fly, the sensation of fingers ghosting over her pubic bone echoing through the Force.

‘That’s new,’ Dawn said as she her hand met with his cock.

She was used to the feel of one in her hand, but the little sound, a heavenly mix between a sigh and a moan, made her nerves come alive. Hux had closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself, so Dawn let her hand do the talking for them both.

She’d barely been stroking him for a minute when he stalled her hand, saying, ‘I want to see you – _all_ of you.’

Without a word, Dawn brought her hand back to herself and sat on the edge of Hux’s bed, removing her boots, then standing to move her leggings move down her hips. She knew Hux would see the scars across the inside of her thighs, but she held his gaze for all of five seconds before his eyes began following them.

‘How deep were those scars when you go them?’ he asked.

Dawn shook her head, smiling the entire time as she moved toward him, naked save for her long robes, which were hanging around her waist. She kept her belt on, holding the robes around her waist like a skirt. Hux seemed to enjoy it, but the scars were distracting him.

‘All you need to know, is that I want you to make love to me and get rid of every bad memory I have.’

Hux didn’t need to be asked twice.

*

With a little growl in the back of his throat, Hux claimed Dawn’s lips as he sat on the edge of his bed, keeping Dawn just shy of his crotch. He slipped a hand under the folds of the robes and felt something slick and warm.

With a little breathy moan, Dawn said, ‘Please.’

Not one to disappoint, Hux passed his fingers over Dawn’s entrance, tracing lines over unfamiliar territory. She was breathing heavy, anticipating every move as he tried to build her up, but he couldn’t move too fast or too ahrd.

The sensation of arousal was being sent back to him two-fold, which was more than unsettling. He wasn’t Force-sensitive, otherwise Snoke would have made him Ren’s newest knight. Trying to put the Sith out of his mind, Hux slowly pushed a finger into Dawn, while the other pulled his cock from the confines of his pants.

‘Arm, please…’

A little flood of desire moved between them as he pulled his hand away from Dawn, and placed his hands on her thighs.

‘This next bit’s up to you,’ he said, shivering a little at the cold air on his heated skin.

She smiled and leant forward, taking hold of him in one hand. Hux was bracing himself, but Dawn felt so relaxed he couldn’t help but hold her closer, deepening the kiss as she sank down over him. They both moaned at the feeling passing between them, of fullness, of being completed. Hux felt his nerves come alive as he tried to concentrate on Dawn’s sounds of pleasure and… pain?

He broke the kiss to ask, ‘Something wrong?’

Hux saw her eyes wet with tears as she whispered, ‘No, Arm, I’m fine.’

It took Dawn some time before she could move, but Hux wouldn’t give her a moment’s rest. His hand moved back to the apex of her thighs, pressing against a small lump that sent sparks of pleasure through their bodies. It helped her nerves, taking her mind off of her worries and fears, leaving only the thought of him behind.

_… the bed…_

They both froze as the words passed between them, faces centimetres apart.

‘What was that?’ Hux asked, voice husky and deep.

Smiling to herself a little, Dawn whispered, ‘I wanted to let you take the lead.’

Feeling giddy and almost light-headed, Hux carefully separated himself from Dawn, noticing a little sheen of blood over himself with a pang of guilt.

‘Three years without sex will do that to you,’ she said in as comforting a tone as she could manage. ‘It was barely a sting.’

Hux nodded as Dawn splayed herself out on the bed, robes spread across the silvery-grey sheets like wings. He crawled over to Dawn and gently began suckling at her neck as he pressed himself back into the tight, warmth of her body. The sensation drew another sound from his throat, far more guttural and wilder than before. Dawn was a little afraid of it, so he paused mid-thrust and put a hand to her cheek.

‘You’re safe with me.’

Dawn pulled him down for another kiss and suddenly, his hips were snapping forward on their own, fuelled by the connection that had formed between them. Dawn’s body was squeezing him tightly, holding him as close as it could before he groaned, long and slow, plunging into her with abandon.

Her little yelps and the feeling of a building orgasm on both their ends kept them on the same footing, so close it almost hurt.

He felt his words return to him in time to say, ‘Dawn, I…’

And as he came, she wrapped her legs around him, tears drying on her cheeks as she fluttered around him. The sensations that passed between them drew out the ecstasy their orgasms, making them shake and shiver in the aftermath. Hux sat up and pulled Dawn with him, hugging her close to his chest as they began to cry.

*

Dawn could feel her flesh crawling, inside and out, as if something was being healed. When they sat apart, her eyes were wide and Hux seemed worried.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Arm, your back!’

Hux put his arm behind himself and felt nothing. No scars, no dips… not even a small blemish of violence across his back. He checked his arms and they both watched as the last burn on his forearm disappeared, melding with his skin. Dawn looked down between them and saw the scars of razors and whips were pushing into her skin, disappearing into her as if they were superficial, not deep-set into her mind and body.

‘Is that normal?’ Hux asked.

‘It’s rare, but for people who are Force-sensitive, no.’

Dawn lifted herself away from him, feeling as if she were still tethered to him. The lightheaded sensation worried her, so she looked down at her stomach and pressed a hand against it.

‘Not pregnant, so what’s…?’

Hux righted his clothing and stood behind Dawn, wrapping his arms around her.

She melted into his chest as he asked, ‘Dawn, what’s wrong?’

‘I don’t know how, but I think I’ve made you Force-sensitivite!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first smut scene in several months, so feedback and criticism is greatly appreciated!


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